As part of the We English touring show I’ve been commissioned to create a new print from the location of each venue exhibiting the work, including this photograph for the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Here are two additional pieces, one taken in Croydon for the exhibition at the Clocktower Gallery and one from Birmingham for the current show at mac Gallery.

Croydon Summer Festival, Lloyd Park, Surrey, 1st August 2010

England vs South Africa, Edgebaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, West Midlands, 2nd August 2008

Posted in EXHIBITIONS, THE PHOTOGRAPHS | Comments Off on NEW WE ENGLISH PHOTOGRAPHS

The Bradford Commission photograph, produced for my exhibition at the National Media Museum, was unveiled at the official opening of We English last night. And here it is-

Bradford Bandits BMX Club, Peel Park, Bradford, West Yorkshire, 17th October 2009 © Simon Roberts

The photograph shows young members of the Bradford Bandits BMX Club taking part in a competition to raise funds for a local cancer charity. Bradford’s historic industrial skyline – the city rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, becoming known as the “wool capital of the world”  – can be seen in the distance. With Lister Mills, at one point the largest silk factory in the world, dominating the backdrop.

There is a limited edition print available, sized 11×14″ in an edition 50. Each print is signed verso and made to highest quality of Fuji Crystal Archive Paper, sleeved in an archival wallet. Priced £125 +VAT. To order, please email studio@simoncroberts.com.

Posted in THE PHOTOGRAPHS | Comments Off on BRADFORD COMMISSION PHOTOGRAPH UNVEILED

I’m back at my desk after a couple of weeks on the road and now returning to my editing. One of the joys of this stage of the project is discovering themes in your work that you weren’t necessarily aware of while producing it. For instance, looking through my initial edit of photographs I can’t help notice how notions of boundaries re-appears throughout the work. How the photographs, somewhat inadvertently, are exploring the relationships between people and place against the understated drama of geographical boundaries. For instance, the physical landscapes are shot through with rivers, trees, hedges that create physical divisions, just as the people themselves create their own personalised environments as they attempt to express their own sense of identity by colonising the spaces around them.  Moreover, many of the leisure activities I photographed often occurr at boundary points: the edge of cities, next to lakes and reservoirs, alongside footpaths and mountain ridges.

Here are a few examples-

Bank End Farm Fishery, Blaxton, Lincolnshire, 5th January 2008

Woolacombe beach, Devon, 23rd May 2008

Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, 16th May 2008

Westward Ho, Devon, 24th May 2008

River Thames, Oxford, 28th June 2008

Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire, 12th May 2008

Posted in POST PRODUCTION, THE PHOTOGRAPHS | Comments Off on BOUNDARIES

Here are a few early images that I’ve come across on the contact sheets so far in my editing, and which may make the final edit. I’m afraid the detail in the photographs are rather lost at this size, but it will give you a sense of the type of images I’m looking for.

 

Day trippers, Skegness

 

Surfing by an overflow pipe, Brighton

 

Pheasant shooting, Basingstoke

 

Mad Maldon Mud Race, Maldon

 

Bank holiday, Holkham Beach

Posted in POST PRODUCTION, THE PHOTOGRAPHS | 1 Comment »